Super Secret Gift Knitting

If you hadn't already surmised, the super secret gift knitting project I spent the late winter and spring working on was wedding related: I knit a shawl for each of the lovely women who served as my attendants.  That photo up there shows the finished product, an aggregate twenty-plus feet of shawl.  The photo quality leaves a bit to be desired, but take my word for it that they're a nice shade of pale pink, to coordinate with chocolate brown dresses. 

There actually wasn't much need for the shawls at the wedding (as we had pretty much perfect weather), but hopefully they'll be worn and enjoyed for years to come.  I certainly enyoyed making them... Any moments of monotony (I'll admit, it was an awful lot of stockinette) were more than worth the looks on my friends' faces when I was finally able to give these puppies to their rightful owners. 

Harvest, future and present

Our strawberry plants are doing really well this year.  See all those flowers and teeny yellow berries?  If they can survive the hungry woodland creatures (they're not fenced in) I suspect we'll have a lot more edible strawberries than we did last year. 

We've already harvested some edible veggies.  There's been enough baby spinach for a couple salads, leaving behind plenty to keep growing.  And the radishes -- oh, the radishes.  I plant rows of them every year because they grow quickly and gardening is more fun when things grow quickly.  I'm not a huge fan, though, especially when they've matured enough to be quite spicy.  For now, we've been putting them in salads, but we've barely made a dent in the crop.  Must research other ways to use them up, or start giving them away to friends and family, as we did last year with cucumbers.

I really wish I had a knitting "harvest" to share as well, but alas, I do not.  Super-secret Gift Knitting project is about 80% done, so I feel like I'm almost, *almost* in the home stretch.  When that's behind me, I can knit something new and different!  Rejoice!  I predict a twirly happy dance of celebration... followed by complete and utter indecision.

Crafting minus yarn equals.... fabric!

Like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I won't be posting any knitting updates for a good long while (unless I lose motivation on the mammoth secret project I need to finish and let my attention stray to some other diversionary project, which is entirely possible).

I do have a craft update, though: a fabric alphabet banner, given as a baby gift for a friend whose twins are thankfully not yet driving (yes, they're still babies -- I just took forever and a day to get this project finished). The letters were fashioned by a group of friends, and I affixed them to their backings and banner-ized the whole thing. Such a fun process.

And so, voila, the alphabet banner:

Public Service Announcement

People, do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy store-bought, jarred hot fudge ever again. Seriously. Prince Charming and I ended a lovely New Year's Eve dinner (stayed in but got dressed up anyway) with sundaes, topped with the following Yummiest Sundae Sauce Ever:

(found through epicurious.com, originally appearing in Bon Appetit, December 2000)

Put a half a cup of water, a cup of sugar, and a half a cup of unsweeted cocoa powder in a small pot. Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until the consistency changes from liquid to slightly thicker than liquid, wherein bubbles formed from the heat of the oven move more slowly, and the whole thing more closely resembles molten goo. At this point, add 4 tablespoons of peanut butter (could probably get away with lower fat stuff, but probably not the natural, need-to-stir-it kind, though that would be good to try and even better if it works, from a wholesome foods, fewer chemicals standpoint) and keep whisking over medium heat for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool enough so as not to burn the roof of your mouth. That's it. Simple and amazingly delicious.

Now that I've fulfilled my civic duty in spreading chocolately goodness throughout the land, I've also got a pictorial knitting update. First, proof that I've been working on Francis Revisited:


I've actually gotten very nearly to the bottom hem by now, but the pictures I took that captured the progress in its entirety didn't really do the yarn justice. This one's prettier.

I also finished a scarfy version of Clapotis this morning. It's destined to be gifted, even though it's pretty and silky soft and so lovely I've decided I'll need to make one for myself before long, my aversion to knitting non-sweaters notwithstanding. (I also made a miniature Clapotis to be gifted to a person who is age- and height-appropriate for it, but didn't take any pictures. If the recipient likes it and will stand still for more than two seconds in front of a camera, perhaps a photograph will be forthcoming.) Anyway, the adult-sized Clapotis, scarf-style (better color accuracy in the second photo):





Thermal hasn't been touched in weeks. I also knit up a fluffy-soft scarf in some random mohair blend, resulting in a piece that looks a lot more labor intensive than it really was. Will probably be given as a belated holiday gift. More sweater knitting is on tap for 2009, that's for sure. Right now, though, that sundae sauce is calling my name...